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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292508">Perfumed With Obsession</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyTabris/pseuds/SassyTabris'>SassyTabris</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Sun and the Moon [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(romantic kiss anyways), First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sappy Fluff and Lowkey purple prose, Some blood &amp; gore at the beginning, background Andy/Quynh as the bastard Bi and lesbian they are</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:20:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyTabris/pseuds/SassyTabris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicoló said firmly and grabbed at Yusuf’s wrist. “... I think we should talk.” </p>
<p>“Nicoló—“</p>
<p>“Please,” the other man sighed, “I’m tired of waiting. And I think you are too.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Sun and the Moon [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905667</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>246</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Perfumed With Obsession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>*snaps fingers threateningly as I walk down the alley holding naught but a fluff fic* </p>
<p>Title yoinked from The Louvre by Lorde</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Later</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The word held a promise. They could figure it out, later. They could speak plainly and decide what to do about the unspoken, </span>
  <em>
    <span>later</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yusuf had planned for the promised ‘later’ to only be a few days at most. At least until he could find a nice spot to talk alone in, like the wildflower field they’d sat in a few years ago. He imagined something romantic and private. But, to his great chagrin, those few days had turned into a few </span>
  <em>
    <span>months</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not even two days after the bath, Andromache had announced she’d found them some work. That ‘work’ had unfurled into a sequence of wild goose chases across Eurasia. By the time they’d finally caught and killed every one of the men they’d been sent after, all four of them were tired. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And </span>
  <em>
    <span>impatient</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He could see his own frustration mirrored in Nicoló’s eyes over their campfire (or hearth fire, if a local was amenable enough to the idea or they had enough coin for the inns) every night before they slept. At least he could be a little more certain that their moment in the bath hadn’t been misunderstood or a lapse in judgement whenever Nicoló tried to catch his eye. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yusuf sighed and looked out over the bodies of their quarry. The fight had been a pain in the ass, and messy, but they hadn’t died once. So he’d take that small victory. Andromache nudged one of the bodies with her boot and scowled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is going to take forever to clean up.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t help that you decided that evisceration was a good method of taking care of a good half of them.” Nicoló grumbled as he yanked one of his arrows out one of the corpse’s shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It worked didn’t it?” Andromache snorted. Quynh hopped over the gore to her side and nudged her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“True, but that means you get to clean it up.” She said with a grin while her lover frowned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What, you aren’t going to help?” Andromache asked and made- in Yusuf’s opinion- one of the poorest attempts at replicating a puppy’s pleading glance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, are you kidding? You made a </span>
  <em>
    <span>mess</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But I’ll keep you company.” Quynh laughed and pressed a kiss to the least bloody part of her cheek. She turned back to where Yusuf was cleaning his saif, “why don’t you and Nicoló go set up camp for all of us? We’ll be here until well after dark I think.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yusuf did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to know if they’d actually be cleaning up the carnage or if they’d be spending time doing other activities. Much as he loved his sisters, had no desire to know what they got up to in their time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. We’ll meet you up on that plateau to the north?” He hummed as he sheathed his sword. Once he’d received their affirmation he tapped Nicoló’s shoulder and gestured for him to follow. With one last rueful glance towards his ruined arrows, Nicoló took his hand and followed him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>———</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a beautiful evening, all things considered. The camp they set up was minimal, as was their dinner. They tossed their clothes off into a pile to burn later. Yusuf couldn’t help it when his eyes wandered a little, even as they were pulling on their spare tunics and trousers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re staring.” Nicoló hummed, and Yusuf quickly turned his head with a small chuckle. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s still some blood under your ribs,” he said, “you should try to get it off.” He didn’t need to see Nicoló’s face to know that his face must be sporting a rather adorable confused pout. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s nothing there.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, my mistake. It must’ve been a shadow.” Yusuf shrugged as he replied. He straightened his clothes and stood, “I think I should get us some more water before it gets too dark. Andromache and Quynh will need it when they get back—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They can get their own water.” Nicoló said firmly and grabbed at Yusuf’s wrist. “... I think we should talk.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nicoló—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please,” the other man sighed, “I’m tired of waiting. And I think you are too.” Yusuf looked into his pretty grey eyes and sighed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am.” He shifted his arm out of Nicoló’s grip so that he could intertwine their fingers and squeeze lightly. “You know, it’s a little funny. I’ve been planning what to say to you for years now, and now that I have the chance it feels like I never learned to speak at all.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nicoló smiled at him, and reached up to cup his cheek. Yusuf leaned lightly into it and allowed himself the indulgence in pressing a soft kiss to the other man’s palm. He wanted to see the flush that quickly bloomed on Nicoló’s cheeks every day for the rest of their impossibly long lives. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a shame. I love listening to you speak,” Nicoló replied gently, tracing his thumb over Yusuf’s cheek. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And I love you.” The words spilled from Yusuf’s mouth, unbidden. “More than I could ever possibly put into words, even if we lived for hundreds of millennia. You are the moon to my sun, Nicoló. My all and more.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was only a beat of silence before Nicoló pressed their foreheads together, eyes sparkling in the firelight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are a ridiculous romantic,” he said softly, “and I would very much like to kiss you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Only if you say it first.” Yusuf smirked. Nicoló rolled his eyes, still grinning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you too, you pain in the ass.” He whispered, leaning in to capture his lips in a soft kiss. Yusuf managed to resist rushing to meet him, though it was a near thing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They’d kissed hundreds of times before. All simple and friendly, all what any close friend or family would do. This was far different than any of those kisses had ever been. It felt like all of his nerves were held taut and flaring, and for all he cared the world could have disappeared from under their feet and left them suspended in space together. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled away only when he had to breathe again, though Nicoló was quick to recapture his lips. His technique gave a little to be desired but Yusuf hardly cared. Nicoló was a quick enough learner, but even if he wasn’t Yusuf would never complain about being able to have this. To hold him close in his arms and trade languid kisses and touches. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It felt like hours had passed before they finally pulled back enough to speak, panting slightly with kiss-swollen lips and closed eyes. Though the part of Yusuf that still retained some semblance of composure reminded him it hadn’t been </span>
  <em>
    <span>nearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>that long. Though certainly wouldn’t mind testing just how long they could do that in the future.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nicoló’s eyes fluttered open again after a moment, hazy but still glinting in the low light. He smiled at him again, and Yusuf couldn’t help but kiss him again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you.” Nicoló laughed softly once it ended, “I- think I need to sit.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then lie down with me.” Yusuf hummed, “it doesn’t need to be more than that.” He added when he saw Nicoló’s face turn red. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe it can be. When we aren’t. Well.” He glanced off towards where they’d left their companions, and Yusuf nodded. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>habibi</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I have no intention of being walked in on, unlike those two.” He chuckled, “and even then only when you are ready.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>amore mio</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Nicoló smiled at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They both slept soundly that night, curled tight in each other’s arms. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>May write an nsfw follow up to this. LATER but this is the end of the series for now! Thank you for tuning in!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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